Report: 15% of offenders return after release in program overhaul

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About 15 percent of offenders now being supervised by county probation after an overhaul of the California correctional system were convicted of new violations after their release from lock-up, while about a third of the offenders were temporarily sent back behind bars on short-term "flash incarcerations," according to a study of recidivism rates during the first year of inmate realignment.

The recently released breakdown of recidivism among the individuals released from prison to county probation supervision during the first year of inmate realignment shows more than half those subsequently convicted of new crimes were due to drug charges, statistics provided by the Orange County Probation Department show.

Created by an Assembly bill, inmate realignment marked a historic change for California's justice system, moving from state prisons to local jails convicted felons considered "nonviolent, nonserious and non-sex" offenders and having eligible offenders released from state prison move from state parole to county probation oversight.

Between realignment going into effect in October 2011 and the one-year anniversary of the program, 2,249 individuals were sent to county probation for supervision, a 13 percent increase over their early projections.

"So often we hear phrases like 'landmark legislation,' and that might be unfortunate because when true landmark legislation occurs, we might discount what is actually happening," Chief Probation Officer Steve Sentman said in a written statement. "In the case of California's public safety realignment plan, this was indeed a huge change to the way we manage offenders in our state."

The recidivism numbers released by probation are not necessarily a reflection of how many arrests involving the realignment offenders have occurred during the first year. Local police chiefs have indicated that some offenders have been arrested multiple times, and probation officials acknowledged that some may have been arrested in other jurisdictions.

Making a direct comparison between the local recidivism numbers during the first year of realignment and the number of individuals who were previously sent back behind bars when the offenders were supervised by state parole is difficult. Realignment significantly changed the way the population of supervised offenders is managed.

The local recidivism numbers don't take into account newly-created law enforcement tools included in realignment, namely "flash incarcerations" that allow probation officers to jail offenders up to 10 days for violations without court hearings.

Orange County Probation officials say they used flash incarcerations for about 33 percent of those under their supervision during the first year of realignment.

Along with the 15 percent of offenders who were convicted of new violations, probation officials also moved to send nearly 5 percent of the offenders to jail for not abiding by the terms of their release in what officials refer to as "technical violations."

While the main driver behind realignment was crowding at the state prison level, backers of the plan also hoped that moving more responsibility to the local level would help address a state recidivism rate that had hovered around 70 percent.

"Our strategy will be continued monitoring of our performance so that we remain aware of changes in outcome and respond with the right tactics," Sentman said. "We know we are doing a better job with these offenders than our predecessors."

While probation officials deal with released offenders under their supervision, Orange County Sheriff's Department officials have been faced with a rising population of inmates that are serving longer sentences and have a more-violent criminal history.

While fears that bed space in the local jail system could run out by late last year didn't come to pass, Sheriff's Department officials say they have faced a rising inmate population.

Bed space in the jails is closely monitored and evaluated on a daily basis, Sheriff's Department Cmdr. Steve Kea said. The department is also in the process of creating a pilot project to place some nonviolent misdemeanor offenders on electronic monitoring and home confinement.

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